Stories from the Institute of War
by Navina
Summary: A story that follows ten up-and-coming summoners who must overcome the conflicts of their city states as well as the personal conflicts they each possess.
1. Prologue

Decades ago, in the land of Valoran, the different factions and city-states fought for dominion over the continent. Blood was spilt across the countries, and the powerful magic of the summoners threatened to end all life in the land. This was called a Rune War, a war in which city states and individuals fought for their own glory and self-interest. Thankfully, the fifth war ended and life continued, but the land had become warped and hard to survive in due to the large amounts of magic. It was then decided that there would no longer be anymore wars to fight in the future. And so, many powerful summoners came together to create a way to decide the outcome of conflicts between city states. This was the League of Legends, an organization of Summoners who would summon well known warriors, mages, and creatures of the land known as champions to fight on a controlled ground.

The League was created in the year 0 CLE, the current league era, and its summoners resided in the institute of war, traveling from the many diverse city-states across the continent. It was here where they would summon for their country, summon for their glory, and summon for the peace of the land.

… This is the story of such summoners…

[Demacia] June 16th, 19 CLE 6:45 A.M.

The sun rises on the pristine city of Demacia, the city-state of Justice on Valoran. Its citizens begin to stir and get to their daily work. The city was peaceful, ruled with an iron fist by its king and prince. The streets were clean and the people were content. This was not just any other day however, at least not for everyone. It was the day that many of Demacia's youth would be graduating from their academies to start working on their careers. And so our story begins wi-

"Sweetie, time to get up!"

… And so our story begins with a-

"Honey, I know you're up by now!"

AND SO OUR STORY BEGINS WITH A-

"Faron, get down here this instant!"

…with a headache.

~ Stories from the Institute of war ~

"Faron!" A woman calls from within a house. She opens the upstairs window and looks out onto the roof. There lay a young man with light brown hair, snoozing away in the dawns growing light. "Faron! What do you think you're doing?!"

"Hmm?" The boy opens his light green eyes and yawns, stretching his arms out and sitting up. He looks down to the window. "Oh, morning ma."

"Were you up there all night?" She asks in a disapproving tone. The boy yawns again, rubbing his eyes.

"Sorry ma, I couldn't sleep so I decided to come out here last night to sleep… Looks like I fell asleep eventually though huh? Haha!"

"This isn't the time to be laughing young man! You've got a ceremony to catch! Look, you even fell asleep in the outfit you planned for today…" She reminds him. His face adapts a blank expression as he stands.

"Wait… today's the day I…! ACK! IDIOT!" He yells, rushing over to the window. His mother steps to the side and he jumps down, taking ahold of the roof's edge and swinging into his room. He quickly begins frantically looking for his bag, rotating in circles as he examines the room

"Ma what time is-?"

"6:47. It's on your clock right there."

"AHHHH! THE GRADUATION CEREMONY STARTS AT SEVEN! Where'd I put my bag, I can't graduate without that, uh, that thing in it!"

His mom hits him with something and he turns to look at her. She was holding a plain messenger bag out to him. He quickly snags the bag, swinging it over his shoulder as he rushes down the stairs.

"ThankYouLoveYouBye!" He says quickly, running out the door. His mom lets out a sigh at the top of the stairs.

"What am I going to do with that boy…? … He didn't even wake up in time for breakfast…" She mutters, walking down the stairs and into the kitchen. She tucks some strands of dark brown hair behind her ear as her eyes find a portrait of her family on the wall. She smiles.

"He won't be a boy for much longer…"

Faron rushes down the Demacian streets, heading towards the palace grounds where the graduation ceremony was to take place. Once the castle gates were in sight, he started to slow down to a walk, panting heavily.

"Ugh… And this is why I'm not becoming a soldier…! Sorry Dad, haha…!" A shadow appears before him.

"That's fine son. You've already made me proud."

Faron looks up to see his father, standing before him in guard attire. Besides a height difference and Faron's meekness compared to his father's, the two looked like mirror images.

"Dad! You're here!" Faron exclaims happily. His father beams a smile and chuckles.

"And it's good to see that you're here just in time as well! You'd better get in there. The ceremony's seconds away from starting!" He tells his son. Faron smiles and nods.

"Right! Mom should be coming after me, tell her I made it in time please!"

Faron heads through the gates with his father waving goodbye behind him. Once inside the wall he gazes up at the palace, a brilliant example of Demacian architecture. A long table with a microphone a ways out in front of it stood at the top of the stairs. Down at the very bottom were all of my classmates; the students of Demacia. They were standing in a very orderly fashion, likely in alphabetical order. I stand sheepishly in the back.

"Hey, You zer!"

I shudder and look to the right of me in surprise. There stood a woman with short black hair, the red streak in her bangs catching my attention. I stand there, frozen.

"Y-Yes?" I ask the woman.

"Are you taking part in ze graduation?" She asks with an almost condescending tone. I nod.

"Yes ma'am!" I reply. She scowls at me.

"You're lucky his highness hasn't started his speech yet. Name?" She asks me in a thick accent. I glance away, avoiding her piercing blue eyes.

"Faron… Faron Nimbasa…" I answer her. She walks past me, heading over to the right end of the stairs.

"This way, wimp." She calls over. 'Wimp?' I think over. I shake my head and follow her. She takes me to an open space in the crowd. "Now stand zer and do not move. Understand?" She tells me. I nod.

"Yes ma'am! Sorry ma'am!" I apologize. A few of my classmates snicker and my face turns red. I scratch the back of my head. The crowd of students goes silent as they see some people walk out of the castle and over to the table at the top of the stairs. My classmates and I immediately recognized them. A man and a woman came over to the table first, and sat on the left side of the table together. They were the two Crownguard siblings, Garen and Lux. Two women, one of which was the one that had taken me to my spot, make their way up the left side of the stairs to sit at the right end of the table. I Recognized the one as Quinn, but I had never seen the other woman before. After the four sat down, two men made their way out into the courtyard. One man stood by the chair at the center of the table while the other, in golden armor, stood in front of the microphone. This was Jarvan the Fourth, the prince of Demacia. Looking out to the crowd of students, he started to speak.

"Students, parents, and citizens of Demacia: Today we are here to celebrate the coming of age for Demacia's youth. They have all worked very hard to see this day, and now it's finally time for them to go out and live their dreams for the glory of Demacia." He begins. As expected, the speech went on for quite a while. I'll be honest, while inspiring, I couldn't help counting every time he said 'Demacia'. It's no mystery that the noble families and normal citizens love their country, I mean I do too. But Demacia is actually very strict when it comes to its rules. Yes it's made the city peaceful, but even the smallest of crimes can have a harsh sentence. It makes me wonder what Demacian justice truly means…

"… And so, let us welcome the next generation! For Demacia!" He calls out. Nearly all of my classmates raised a fist into the air and shouted the same, so I followed suit. There was applause from the parents along the gate's walls and cheers from the students who would be getting their diploma in the next hour or so.

The students were called up in alphabetical order, so I was standing among the other students for quite some time. I watched the students go up to the table, a few at a time, students whose faces were the only things I knew about them. I was always a pretty reserved kid, so I only had a number of acquaintances rather than close friends. It never much bothered me though. The students in my row were finally called up. When we got to the top of the stairs, we were called over by name to speak with the prince himself. I glanced around, shaking nervously as the line got shorter. I open my messenger bag and take out my writ of admissions. This needed to be signed by someone in high standing with the Demacian government so that I legally work where I wanted to. None of the other students in the line needed one, but I had seen others have them signed. Finally there was no one left in front of me, only behind me.

"Nimbasa, Faron." Xin Zhao calls. I step over in front of the prince. He smiles.

"Congratulations Mr. Nimbasa, on your graduation." He tells me. I nod.

"Th-Thank you sir…!" I reply. He glances at the paper I was holding.

"I see that you have something for me?" He inquires. I look down and then quickly nod, handing it to him. He looks it over.

"Ah… So, you are heading to the institute of war to become a summoner? Very well. I will sign for you so you may head there whenever you are ready." He assures me. He signs the form and hands it back to me.

"Thank you very much your highness…! I'm very excited to be representing Demacia in the Institute of War…!" I tell him. He laughs.

"I'm sure you will become a great summoner one day Faron. Good luck with your training. I'm sure that Egon is very proud of you as well."

My face becomes still at the mention of my father's name and I grin happily. I bow to him.

"Thank you again, your highness."

With that, he gave me a nod and I head down the stairs and over to my parents who were waiting at the left side of the stairs. My mother hugs me very tightly and I laugh, still shaking. Once she lets me go, my father places a hand on my shoulder, giving me a look of pride for me. As for me, I was enthusiastic to finally be able to follow my dreams. While I may not be like my father with his brawn, I'm very proud of my magical talents. I'm going to become a summoner at the Institute of War, someone who settles conflicts without anyone getting hurt. Some summon for their city-state. Others summon for their own glory. As for me, there's only one reason I'll summon. I will summon for peace.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The road to the Institute of war

The sun set on the big day only to rise the next as it always did. Its light peeked through the window to Faron's room, trying to wake him up with the morning light. Unfortunately that didn't work so his mother had to wake him up instead.

"FAROOOON!" I hear my mother yell from downstairs. "Get your lazy butt down here!" I roll over to face the wall and groan.

"Five more minutes…" I call down tiredly. My mother sighs loudly.

"You know, I won't be there to wake you up when you're at the Institute! You're going to have to wake yourself up!" She nags. My eyes open suddenly. I look at the clock and smile. It was only 7:00. I had plenty of time until a carriage came to take me and a few others off to the Institute of war. Regardless, I decide to get myself out of bed and enjoy the little time I had left with my mom and dad. I wipe the sleep from my eyes as I go through my normal morning routine: Making my bed, getting dressed and getting packed for school… or in this case, the trip. Once I get everything I want to bring packed up I sit on my bed in the silent room. I wouldn't be coming back here for quite some time. It was actually kind of scary to think about… But I made a promise to myself that I'd go out and achieve my goals on my own.

When I get downstairs I see my parents putting breakfast on the table. It looked like I was just in time… For once.

"There you are. So you decided to join us for breakfast this morning?" My mom asks jokingly. I laugh and nod my head.

"Yeah, I guess so! Ha ha…!" My father sits down in his chair at the circular table and I quickly sit at mine, helping myself to the eggs and toast that were set at the center.

"So, have you decided who you're going to be summoning? Or where for that matter?" my father asks. I think for a moment.

"Well… In the mock battles we had, I really liked top lane, but jungle's fun to be too. As for whom I'm going to summon… Well, I don't know yet… There are so many champions to choose from!" I tell him. He nods in understanding.

"That's very true… You have the free selection of famous warriors and mages from all over Valoran. I suppose you'll just have to decide when you get there."

"Yeah…" I agree, taking a bite of toast and swallowing it. "But you know what would be really cool?" Mom finally sits down at the table, getting herself two pieces of toast.

"Let me guess," She begins. "Being able to summon Garen Crownguard?" I smile widely.

"That would be so awesome!" I comment, taking another bite. My mother laughs softly.

"Well from my understanding, you're not limited on who you can and can't summon are you?" She asks me. I chew and swallow the rest of a piece of toast and take a drink of water. Setting it down, I look off out the window.

"Well… It kind of depends… The champions someone can control are based on how experienced the summoner in question is. Luckily I've heard that Garen is one of the easier champions to summon, so I think I'll be ok." I explain.

"And one day you'll be able to summon them all!" My father says. I nod, giving him an impassioned grin.

"Yeah, I hope so!"

7:30 turned into 9:00 faster than I could've imagined, and the carriage to the IoW would be appearing on our street any second to pick me up. I nervously pace in front of the door, unable to hold still. I hear my mother laugh as she looked at me from the living room and pout.

"Sweetie, relax. It's not good to be this anxious." She tells me. I sigh and stand still by the door, but now I was tapping my foot. I look into the living room. My mother was stitching up a royal blue colored cloth.

"Did dad rip his scarf again?" I ask curiously. She keeps her eyes on her work.

"Well, it's not like it's his fault. He's trying to protect against Noxian invasions…" She says. She looks over to me. "Remember? I told you that your father doesn't just work as a city guard…" I nod.

"I know… But how many times can one piece of cloth rip?" I ask jokingly. My mother smiles a distant smile and I quickly look out the window. My mother worried constantly when my father was away from the city. I always used to tell her that he'd definitely be back soon, and dad was even very careful to write often when he was away. We hear a knock at the door and I go to open it quickly. When I looked out I saw a man I didn't recognize at the door and in the background a carriage with a few classmates of mine inside.

"Are you Faron Nimbasa?" The man asks me. I nod quickly.

"Uh, yeah, that's me." I answer. The man gives me a friendly smile.

"My name's Bryce. I'll be taking you and your friends to the institute of war." He says, shaking my hand. I shake back and smile awkwardly at the word 'friends'.

"Thank you sir."

My mother comes to the door, handing me my bag. I throw it over my shoulder and leave the doorway. My mother follows me out.

"Oh, Faron, do you have the letter of admissions?" She asks me as my father also steps out of the house, closing the door behind him. I search through my bag and suddenly become anxious.

"Um… It's… uh…" I stutter. I feel a light tap on my forehead and see my dad holding a neatly folded letter. I quickly grab it out of his hand.

"Daaaad!" I yell at him with a flustered expression. He laughs loudly.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it. Needed to tease you just one more time." He tells me. I pout, stashing the letter away in my bag for safe keeping.

"Honey, don't you have something else for Faron?" My mother asks him. My father's expression is blank before smiling widely and scratching his head.

"Ha, that's right! Don't worry, I hadn't forgotten!" He assures her. She chuckles, covering her mouth.

"You two are some of the most forgetful people I think I've ever met…" My father reaches into his pocket and pulls out a rectangular velvet box, handing it to me.

"It's a going away present. Hopefully it'll keep you from getting too homesick." My father tells me. I flip open the box and inside was a metal pin adorned with the symbol of Demacia. I smile when I first get a glimpse of it. It was a very well made pin. But it was only when I gave it a closer look that I saw why my father gave it to me. On the pin side was a signature, Garen's signature to be exact. I turn to my father with a huge grin.

"You got captain Garen to sign this?! But, how?!" I ask quickly "I mean, I know you're in the military, but Garen's the head of the Dauntless Vanguard so…"

"That's the other surprise. I actually got moved to the vanguard quite recently. I thought I'd keep it a secret until I gave that to you." He tells me with a grin.

"That's… That's amazing!" I smile. Bryce whistles over to the three of us.

"I hate to interrupt, but we don't have all day. Your friends are getting impatient." He tells me. I look down at the ground.

"Yeah… Friends…" I say a bit solemnly. I feel my father place his hand on my shoulder.

"And that's the one last thing your mother and I wanted to tell you. Go out and make some friends." He tells me. He looks over to the carriage to see the kids inside looking over with dirty looks. When Egon looks over, they quickly look away. "I know that it's been hard, but the Institute is a whole new pool. I'm sure you'll make plenty of friends if you just be yourself."

"I'll try dad…"

I start heading over to the carriage, opening the door and getting inside.  
"Don't forget to write!" My mother calls. I nod and give her a thumbs-up as the carriage starts moving. I take a deep breath nervously.

"You think he'll be ok Egon…?"

"He'll be fine dear… Faron's timid, but he's not weak. I'm sure he'll be just fine."

I say absolutely nothing once my house was no longer in sight, and though I felt their icy stares, I didn't dare to reciprocate them. I occupied myself with going through my bag quietly and secretly. Once the three other boys saw that I was paying no attention to them, they decided to talk amongst themselves, probably knowing that Bryce could hear everything they said anyways. In the bag I found my lunch (which I'd be eating later on), money to get me started at the institute, a purple robe with golden finishes (that I actually had no idea what it looked like), toiletries, and my letter of admissions signed by Jarven IV. However, there were a few things inside that weren't there when I left the house. I pull out a plain leather journal with a letter attached to it. The letter had my name on it in my mother's handwriting. I tear open the letter quietly and unfold it, reading what it said.

_Dear Faron,_

_It's hard for me to believe that you're actually leaving Demacia already. This isn't because I don't think you're prepared, but because it all seems to have happened so fast. It seems like only yesterday when you were swinging your old toy sword around and playing soldiers with your father. Back then your father and I both thought you would follow in his footsteps and join the Demacian military. I was actually very relieved when you came up to us timidly that day a few summers ago and told us that you wanted to become a summoner. I don't think I could bear having to send both of you onto a chaotic battlefield, even if it was for our country. Even still, I remember the timid look on your face, as if you were scared of disappointing us. But the opposite couldn't be truer. Egon and I are so proud of you Faron!_

_I decided to slip this letter, along with a journal into your bag. I won't be able to remind you of things back here in Demacia, so you'll have to keep track of things yourself! That's not going to be too difficult right? You can use the book as a __diary__ normal journal, a planner, or anything else you'd need it for._

_Now, if I had nagged you about anything before leaving the house, you'd have probably forgotten it (like father like son), so I'm going to write down a list of advice for you from your father and I._

Below was a long list of bullet points, each one giving a separate kind of advice. The advice ranged from 'stay away from suspicious people' to 'remember to keep your living space clean and tidy'. Then I got to the last piece of advice, the longest one on the page.

_Remember that you're going to go through your fair share of hardships, just as the rest of us have. I want you to remember that no matter what hardship you face, you will always come out of it being stronger. Remember that it's ok to cry and it's ok to be frustrated. It's part of being human. But never give up hope and never lose your spirit. You've always been a happy child, so maybe this goes without saying; but always remember to smile. You're smile has an almost magical attribute to it. When others see your smile, they feel just a little bit better. And of course, you do too. (Your father wrote this )_

I smile at this last point and read on from it.

_Egon and I are sad to see you leave us, but we're also very excited for you and are eager to hear from you about what it's like at the Institute of War! Don't forget that we love you, and we're rooting for you here in Demacia!_

_With love, Clara and Egon (Mom and Dad)_

_(P.S.: If you're having trouble affording an apartment, you could always room with someone else!)_

After reading the letter, I fold it up and put it back in the envelope, carefully putting both it and the journal away. I take the pin out of its case and pin it to the base of my shirt collar. As I look out the window once again, I see that the carriage was making its way through the city walls. The carriage was stopped and checked out before letting us leave. Once starting again, the other boys and I all looked back at the walls. One of them spoke up.

"So that's what Demacia looks like from the outside…" He says. Another boy replies.

"It looks as regal as it does on the inside…"

Every one of us seemed to feel this strange, melancholy feeling as we watched the city walls get smaller and smaller in the distance until there appeared to be nothing left. I sigh and look out of the side windows instead. My eyes widened at the sight of hills, prairies, forests, and marshes as far as my eyes could see. I press my hands against the windows as I notice far off villages and even people.

"Hey kids. Just to let you know, we need to get through the marshes of Kaladoun if we want to take the fastest route to the institute of war. Hopefully we'll get through without any problems, but you never know." Bryce tells us.

"We have to go through a marsh? Won't the carriage wheels get stuck or something?" another boy asks him. Bryce laughs.

"Honestly, I know you boys have never been out of the city, but YEESH! There's a relatively dry dirt road that travels from the marshes of Kaladoun into the Howling Marsh and then on to the Institute." He explains.

"W-Wait, did you say we're going to have to pass through the howling marshes?!" A boy asks. Bryce nods. "No way! Isn't that place supposed to be haunted?!"

"Yep, it's a place that houses the undead! Look, you don't have to worry about them. There have, however, been incidents where noxian assassins would hide out there…" He says. A wave of anxiety washed over us while Bryce simply laughed.

"I'm just teasing you kids. I've been through this path millions of times. Nothing will happen while I'm here alright?"

It was about 2:00 P.M. when we arrived at the marshes of Kaladoun. The other students had eaten their lunch at noon, but I decided to save mine for later. I didn't think we'd be making it to the institute of war until late at night anyways. The marshes were dark, gloomy, and smelled kind of funky. We saw a bunch of strange reptiles and other animals that we had only seen in zoos back in Demacia. Nothing was out of the ordinary and it was never silent with the sounds of crickets. Oddly though, the crickets chirping soon died away as we continued our way through the marsh. As time went on, it got darker as well. We came up to a sign that signaled that we were entering the howling marsh and everyone but Bryce, who was singing to himself, went silent. I see the nervous look on everyone's face as it gets darker and a strange fog begins to set in, blocking our view of the sky.

"Hey… um… how about we play a game or something?" I ask them. They look over to me, then to each other. They weren't looking at me with the same look as when we left. They were looks of genuine concern.

"What kind of game?"

"How about… twenty questions?" I suggest. The boy sitting next to me shook his head.

"Isn't it a bit too dark for that? ... What time is it anyways?" he asks. The boy across from me takes a look at his pocket watch, illuminated by the light of the carriage lantern.

"It's about 4:30…" He answers.

"And it's dark already…?! This place is creepy…"

"Oh, it's just an old marsh! There's nothing to worry about!" Bryce says to us. "But jeez… These bugs will be the death of me, pesky things…!"

We went through the marsh as nervous as we came in. I decided to read over my mother's letter over and over again to keep myself from concentrating on the strange sounds from the bog. The other kids preoccupied themselves with similar endeavors until finally; at long last, the carriage left the strange marsh behind. When we left, the strange fog lifted and revealed the sun setting across the continent. We all sigh with relief to be out of there. It was smooth sailing to the Institute now.

7:00 began to roll around and I still wasn't very hungry to eat. Maybe it was because I was just so nervous or had a big enough breakfast to last me. Personally I believed it to be the former. We come up to an intersection and see another carriage stopped on the side of the road.

"Huh? Hey!" Bryce calls out to the carriage. "Ronald, is that you bud?!"

A man looks over to our carriage and waves. At the base of their coach sat four people wearing strange clothing. Bryce parks our coach by the side of the road, rushing over to his friend. The other boys and I leave the carriage and stretch our legs for the first time in hours.

"Bryce! How was the ride through the marshes?" Ronald asks him.

"Creepy as always, but nothing came out and spooked the newbies. Isn't that right boys?" He calls over. We walked over to him and the people with strange clothes. "So, stopping here for the night I presume?"

"Yeah. These Piltover kids couldn't stand to be in the coach anymore either."

"Mind if we join you?" Bryce asks. Ronald smiles in response.

"No problem!"

"I still can't see why we can't just get to the Institute tonight. It's only one or two hours away!" A woman complains.

"Now look here; Horses need rest too you know. If you're so set, then why not take the next few miles on foot?" Ronald tells her.

"Well, I… uh… sigh… yeah, you're right…" She concedes, fiddling with her medium length black hair. One or two of the other strange people chuckle at her, but they shut up when the girl gives them an incredibly scary glare.

"Well don't be shy you four, go ahead and sit down with the others." Bryce tells us as he heads to the back of the carriage. I take a seat against the wheel of the other coach, kind of separate from everyone else. I rummage through my bag and finally take out the lunch that my mother had made for me. Bryce comes over with a pile of wood seeming to have come from the back of the coach. A fire is started as I start eating my sandwich. None of us had ever gone camping or had experience sitting around a campfire, so it was something new. It was actually kind of uncomfortable sitting around the fire as my face would be warm but my arms and the back of my neck would still be cold.

"Hey, you…" I hear the woman call over. I looked around and saw that she was looking at me. I swallow the last bite of my sandwich.

"Yes?" I reply. She turns to face me. I couldn't help staring at her outfit, which seemed to have belts in a lot of places for hardly any real reason. She notices this.

"Hey! My face is up here!" She yells at me, a frown appearing on her face.

"Wah! Sorry! ... It's just that no one dresses like that in Demacia…" I explain, looking down at the ground now.

"… Oh…" She says. She clears her throat. "Sorry I thought you were… Never mind. So you guys are from Demacia?" She asks, starting over. I look to her and nod. "I see… Is it true that you guys just go around shouting 'Demacia' wherever you go?"

"Uh… No… Not everyone does that…" I answer her, feeling a bit awkward that she'd actually think that every Demacian would do that. She laughs awkwardly, scratching the back of her head.

"Oh, haha, sorry. I was just curious…" She explains.

"And… You're from Piltover?" I ask her. She smirks and nods.

"Yep! Best city-state in all of Valoran, hands down!" I take out a bottle of water.

"I've only seen pictures of Piltover… It does look pretty cool… But I grew up in Demacia and I'm going to say that Demacia's the best, at least in my eyes." I comment. I take a sip of the water.

"I suppose I'm in the same boat. This is the closest I've ever been to Demacia and it's still across a huge marshland." I hear a low growl and look over to the girl. "Oh you shut it…" She says to her stomach. I laugh. "What are you laughing at?!"

"Ahaha, s-sorry! Let me see…" I apologize, rummaging through my bag. I pull out an apple. "I'm not that hungry after the sandwich I had. Want an apple?" I ask.

"Seriously? Yeah, thanks!" I toss her the apple. She catches it and takes a bite from it. "I haven't had anything to eat since the Ironspike mountains! It goes without saying that I under packed severely! Haha!" She takes another bite and I smile awkwardly again, not really knowing what to do now. "So what's your name kid?"

"Hmm? I'm Faron Nimbasa. And you are?" I ask the girl.

"My name's Yanaba Yamena. It's Nice to meet you Faron." She says, winking at me with her light brown eyes. I give her a friendly smile

"Same to you Yanaba!

The two of us talked for a while to each other about our hometowns and our aspirations for the Institute of War. Yanaba was planning to main jungle once she got the basics of real summoning down. She told me that she was planning to learn how to use a champion named Vi as fast as she could. I suppose that, like me, she wanted to be able to represent her city-state with the hometown champion she idolized. I wondered then if everyone was going to be like that. At this point, I had no idea.

We started back on the road again at about 7:00 in the morning and the two coaches stayed together on the road for the rest of the trip. As Yanaba had said earlier, it took only two hours for us all to get our first glimpse at the institute of war. It gave off an aura of magic, even from where we were. Around the main building, which stood out as a huge architectural masterpiece, were smaller buildings likely used for shops and residence for its many summoners. All of us smiled at the sight of the magical city. We finally made it!


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Destination

As we rode into the city we couldn't help feeling anxious. We didn't see many people in purple cloaks like we thought we would until we got close to the center. People wore all kinds of different summoner cloaks ranging from ordinary to gaudy and everywhere in between. I still had no idea what mine looked like. It was probably something ordinary like I preferred… or at least I hoped.

Our carriage pulls up to the stairs of a huge architectural wonder of a building clouded in an aura of magic. The earth sprung up in high spikes around this part of the city. Perhaps the land itself was deformed because of the intense magic used here. All of us leave our coach.

"Whelp, here you all are! Hope you like it here kids! Who knows, maybe I'll see you later sometime." Bryce tells us. Ronald and he then leave with their empty carriages to another part of the city. I watch the carriages leave and then look out over the city. It was better than I ever imagined it to be. I'm ripped from my thoughts as my arm gets tugged in the direction of the center building's entrance.

"Come on Faron! We don't have all day!" Yanaba tells me with a smile. She drags me up the stairs and into the building ahead of the other students. As I'm about to protest I am silenced by the room we enter in. It was a huge room with ornate walls and a polished stone floor. Yanaba lets go of my arm and stares around too. There were dozens of summoners walking about this room, never stopping and always crossing into another corridor. Apart from some people manning the desk at the back of the room, all of the summoners had their hoods up. The other students catch up to us, but there were more people than before. They were probably other new summoners that had just arrived. A hooded man leaves after talking to the front desk and comes over to our group.

"You must be the newbies scheduled to be here today. Welcome to the Institute of war." He tells us. While his voice wasn't monotone or anything, it was hard to tell if he was interested in us at all. "This way please."

He leads us to the front desk. The man on the other side of the desk waves to us smiling.

"We need to check you all in and collect your admission letters. Once we confirm everything I'd like you to stand over to the side in a group. I will be giving you a tour of the facility once everyone's in." He tells us. He looks to Yanaba. "You can go first since you're right here."

"Sure thing!" She replies. She takes out a letter closed with a golden seal and hands it to the man at the front desk. The man opens the letter, skimming over it briefly and then looking at a separate scroll that was out on the table. He closes the letter and puts it away under the desk, smiling.

"Alright Yanaba, you're checked in." The man tells her. She fist pumps excitedly, unable to contain herself and steps off to the side as instructed.

"… You're next then, go on." I hear the other man say. I look over and see him looking at me. I point to myself just to make sure and he nods. I step up to the desk and hand the man there my letter of admissions with a slightly embarrassed face. I watch as he opens my letter and reads it over.

"Demacia, huh? How are things there? I haven't gone back home in a while." The man behind the desk asks me.

"Um, it's been great…" I tell him with a smile. He smiles back and looks over the list. After putting the letter away, he signals for me to join Yanaba. "Thank you." I tell him and walk over to the side.

"Looks like we got through ok!" Yanaba exclaims. I nod in agreement

"I actually kinda thought it would be harder…" I admit, once again staring at the ceiling of the room. I suddenly get pushed out of the way and stumble backwards. My arm gets caught as I'm about to fall down.

"Whoa! You ok?" Yanaba asks me. I get back on my feet and nod, laughing. I look over to a kid that had just walked over. He was now leaning against the wall. Yanaba glares at him. "What's your problem?!"

The blond haired man stares at Yanaba with grey eyes that seemed to give off an air of arrogance.

"I don't have one. Do you?" He asks Yanaba. She grits her teeth angrily.

"Who the hell do you think you are bucko?!" She yells at him. The boy smirks.

"I'm glad you asked…! I'm-" He starts to say. I had been looking at the rest of the room.

"Hey look, a Yordle!" I point out. Yanaba immediately looks to the rest of the room.

"Where?!" She asks quickly with an anticipating grin. The boy's eyes widen and he stops leaning on the wall, face getting red with anger.

"DON"T IGNORE ME!" He tells us.

"Yeah, yeah, shut up. Where's the Yordle Faron?" Yanaba asks. I point to the end of the line where the other students were getting checked in. Standing there was a small male Yordle. "Ah, there he is! So cute! I've seen Yordles plenty of times in Piltover, but I still really like seeing the little guys!"

"… It's just a walking ball of fuzz…" We hear the other boy say as other students came over from the desk. Yanaba points to him.

"You shut your mouth, they're adorable!" Yanaba yells at him. He seemed to be trying to look past us. He catches a glimpse of the Yordle and gets a blank expression.

"Whoa… That thing is… weird…" He says. Yanaba sighs in aggravation, having no patience for the blonde man.

"Where the hell are you even from anyways?" Yanaba asks him. He looks over with his blank expression, which changes to the arrogant face he had a minute ago.

"Well, since you asked, I happen to come from Noxus, the strongest city-state in all of Valoran!" He tells us. I look over in surprise and Yanaba glares at him.

"That explains everything." She tells him. I look away a bit nervously. In my sights I see the hooded man that was directing us all through the admission process glance over and then look back to the disintegrating line of newcomers. I watch the line disappear as Yanaba and the other boy argue. The hooded man faces us all and takes off his hood. He seemed to be a man in his late thirties or early forties with dark brown hair and strange blue eyes. However, there was only one thing that seemed to grab all of our attention. The man had small pointed ears that were almost hidden by the short hair on the side of his face.

"Congratulations on your successful admission. Usually we have new summoners that forget to bring their letter of admission, but it seems that things went smoothly this time around…" He congratulates us. "My name is Tenzo, and now that you're all through, it's my job to give you a tour of the facility. I will answer any questions you have once the tour is over."

"… What's with his ears?" Yanaba whispers to me. I shrug in response. I notice Tenzo sigh and give a small glare at us.

"For future reference, I CAN and WILL hear everything you say behind my back, so it's a good idea to not even bother…" He warns all of us. Yanaba blinks and gets a bit red in the face as Tenzo begins walking to the right of all of us. "Come along then…"

We all follow Tenzo, who leads us to the right wing of the building. It seemed to be a large bustling corridor. There were plenty of people sitting around on couches that were sitting in the middle of the room as well as on the sides. They all gave us friendly looks as we passed by. There were four or five large entryways that seemed to lead further into the institute. Tenzo stops us in front of the middle entryway.

"This is where many of you will be spending much of your time." He explains, talking over a loud voice that seemed to be announcing something or another. "This is where what we call bot matches and normal summoner matches are held. Each entryway will lead you to a different match area or mode. The one we are standing in front of now will have you summon the champions of the League of Legends to Summoner's Rift. There is also the Twisted Treeline to the right over here and Howling Abyss to the left. The other two areas are empty. The Institute is always looking to add new battle areas for summoners, and so that is what the extra entryways are for." Tenzo explains. A girl raises her hand.

"I'll answer any questions after the tour." Tenzo reiterates. The girl continues with her question anyways.

"Hold on, how can so many people all summon on summoners rift at the same time? And don't the rooms ever get full?" She asks. This had actually bothered me too. Looking around, apparently everyone else was curious too. Tenzo nods.

"Very well… While many of us are primarily summoners, that doesn't mean that our magic is limited to summoning champions and such… Even many new summoners have one other kind of magic hidden up their sleeve am I not correct?" He says, looking to us. Many of us nod. In many Demacian schools it's actually mandatory for future summoners to study another kind of magic. While I did that, I'm not very strong with my secondary magic quite yet. Tenzo continues.

"We have some very special and talented summoners that specialize in the bending of space. While this magic is heavily regulated, the Institute of War decided to use it to its advantage. It's part of why the surrounding area looks the way it does." Tenzo explains. "That is how you can have thousands of summoners battle in the same area at the same time."

"I still don't really understand..." I tell Yanaba under my breath. Tenzo looks directly at me.

"It's extremely complicated… Think of it as thousands of duplicated pockets of space…" Tenzo tries to elaborate. 'That just makes my head hurt more…' I think to myself. Thank goodness, it didn't seem like he could read my mind.

He led us back out of the corridor and into the main lobby once again. He opens a door beside the main desk, where we had been standing next to. We all file in and see what appeared to be a shop. All kinds of things were being sold, things from purple cloth and bags to magical objects like runes.

"This is the store for summoners. Here you may purchase everything you'd need for your day here, as well as items that can help increase your champions' stats during matches. This is also where you can purchase champion licenses. You will be able to purchase most of the items in the store with the influence points you earn during any match you attend. That being said, there are also items that you can only get by paying normal currency. The Institute will pay you in worldly currency for normal summoner vs. summoner matches." Tenzo explains. He starts heading out the door only to realize that no one was following him and that everyone was looking around the store. "You'll all have plenty of time to look around after the tour. Now follow me. You'll be seeing where all of the disputes around Valoran are resolved next…" He tells us.

Hearing this, we all leave the store and follow him to the left corridor. This corridor didn't look too different from the right corridor. In fact, they were almost identical. The only difference seemed to be that there were only two entryways instead of five. Also unlike the right wing, anyone that looked our way didn't look at us with friendly faces. They were either serious or condescending looks.

"… What do they think they're looking at…?" Yanaba asks rhetorically, looking around and glaring back at anyone who dared look at her condescendingly.

"In their minds, newbies." Tenzo answers, once again having heard her.

"I wasn't looking for an answer pops…" She murmurs as quietly as she possibly can. He looks back at her, glaring silently. Yanaba looks down in response. "…ok, he's good…" Tenzo turns towards us.

"This is where what we called ranked matches occur. You will not be spending much time in this corridor for a while to come. You must first prove that you have a thorough understanding of what summoning is truly like in regards to the Institutes' policies as well as the leagues'. Here, everyone has an equal base footing in masteries and base experience. You will be informed of progress you make, and you will be rewarded for it." Tenzo explains. The blonde haired noxian from before speaks up.

"What's that door at the end of the corridor…?" He asks without raising his hand. Tenzo looks at the boy silently for a time, then looks at the whole group.

"Hmph. I suppose it's better to warn you now. Note that this will be your one and only warning." He begins. At this, he grabbed all of our attention. "As many of you know, not all of the champions in the League of Legends are… agreeable. Because of this, many have to be locked here, at the institute. Beyond that door, you will find champions such as Fiddlesticks and Nocturne locked away for use. Only the members of the High Council of Equity and those they approve may venture in there."

"So… the imprisoned champions are there…" Yanaba says aloud. I stare nervously at the door. Tenzo beckons us all out of the corridor and back into the lobby area.

"The lobby is used to check into the institute as well as see where you stand among fellow summoners, specifically in ranked matches. This is also where you will go when you wish to join a ranked team, which none of you will be doing for quite a while…" Tenzo tells us. The man at the front desk laughs.

"Jeez Tenzo, could you be any more encouraging?" The man jokes. Tenzo rolls his eyes slightly, smiling at the remark. He looks back to the rest of us.

"This is where the tour ends. Are there any questions?" Tenzo asks us. A few people raise their hands, one of them being Yanaba. Tenzo looks to Yanaba first, as she was standing in the front. "Yes?"

"Yeah, what's with your ears?" Yanaba asks curiously. Tenzo remains silent, appearing to tense up. He eventually answers her.

"There is a village located on the southernmost part of the Ionian mainland called Kiroki. People from that village adapted to their surroundings and have finer hearing than many. Not many people from my village had ever left and in fact I was the first member of my village to leave for the mainland of Valoran in order to study summoning magic… You could say I was wise to make that decision…" He explains, his eyes narrowing in what appeared to be seething hatred. This comment confused me, but it didn't seem to confuse Yanaba. She remains silent.

"…Anyone else?" he asks, his strange gaze returning to normal.

Many of the other students had questions about the Institute that I already knew. Eventually no one had any questions to ask anymore and so the tour came to an end.

"This ends the tour of the Institute of War. You'll be able to begin your summoning training tomorrow. Until then, I'd suggest you all find somewhere to stay. You're a long way from home." He says, smirking in a smart manner. With this said, the group disperses and leaves the building.

"Looks like I'd better start looking for an apartment…" I say out loud. Yanaba nods.

"Yeah, me too… I don't have much money on me though, so I might just chill at a hotel or find a roommate or something…" She thinks up. I rummage through my bag to check just how much money I had. My parents had sent me away with a modest sum, enough to pay off the down payment for an apartment, but not much else. It was going to be hard finding a place I could afford.

"Yo, Faron!" Yanaba calls, getting my attention from the lower part of the staircase. I look over. "We've gotta exchange summoner names once we register them! I'll meet you tomorrow!" She tells me.

"Wait, what time tomorrow?" I ask her. She thinks for a minute.

"How about ten in the morning? Does that sound alright with you? I'll meet you in the lobby!" She answers. She then turns her back and runs off into the town.

"Uh, yeah!" I call back loudly, hoping she could hear me. she turns around quickly and gives me a thumbs up, turns back around again and continues her jog. I scratch my cheek in slight embarrassment as I notice some people staring at me. I walk carefully down the stairs and into town.

After spending a bit of money on a small lunch and about three hours of walking around and getting used to the city, I still hadn't found an apartment that was to my liking… at least in terms of price. I had checked into an inn which I marked on a map I had acquired so I wouldn't forget its location. I finally come to a tall building that was marked on my map as an apartment building. I stepped inside to get a better feel of the place.

The inside lobby was relatively orderly and clean. It was simple, but also rather tasteful. It almost reminded me of home. I look over to the man at the front desk, who was talking to someone.

"You're kidding…! Sigh…"

"Sorry kid. That's just not enough…" The man at the counter tells him. The boy turns around and looks directly at me. That's when I realized that he was the blonde haired boy from earlier. The Noxian…

"Hey… You were from the tour…" he observes. I nod and look to the side. The man at the counter notices me.

"Did you need something?"

"Um…" I stand up straight, trying to sound confident, or at least casual. "Yes. I was wondering what the price range for the apartments here were." I answer him.

"The down payment is 50-70 gold while the rent each month is 5-10 gold. It really depends on what you want in an apartment. I know it may seem like a lot, but the summoners here make a pretty damn decent living." He answers. He had a point. For new summoners that had just left their homes, 50 gold pieces was a lot. Luckily my parents had sent me off with about 60 gold pieces in total, which also reminded me that I needed to visit the nearest bank as soon as possible. It kind of stunk not being able to carry around Demacian paper currency all the time, but gold, silver, and bronze were the worldly currency.

"I can pay for that." I tell the man. The boy looks at me, a bit surprised as I walk up to the front desk. He looks down at the ground and then leaves the building with a disappointed expression.

"Alright! What are you looking for then?" He asks as the boy leaves. I thought for a moment. What did I want? One bedroom and bathroom would be enough for me honestly.

"… Just one bedroom and bathroom is fine." I answer finally, hoping I didn't say something stupid.

"In that case, the down payment is only 50 gold and you can move in whenever you want. Unfortunately the room doesn't come with any furniture." He informs me. I nod.

"Yeah, I knew that…" I say a bit quietly. The man laughs.

"Sorry, kid. You just look like you've come from a bit of a sheltered life." He admits. I smile slightly at this as he wasn't exactly wrong. I take out 50 gold pieces and feel a weight leave my shoulders as I hand him the bag of coins. He makes sure that all the gold coins were there and then leaves into a backroom. He returns with a key that had a tag on it. The number 15 was on the tag. "So, what's your name kid?" He asks.

"Faron Nimbasa. I just came in this morning from Demacia." I tell him. He grins as he writes something down in an open book on the desk.

"Demacia, huh? That's a great city. I've only visited one or twice, but it seems like a nice place. A bit strict for my taste but… Well, you know." He comments. "My name's Anivan. I'm the presiding landlord over these apartments. Come to me if you ever have any problems later on." He says, handing me the key. "I'll be seeing you again whenever you get furniture over here I suppose."

"Yeah. Thank you very much sir!" I say with a grateful smile. He smiles back and I head out the door.

I head back to the inn I had checked into. I suddenly get a feeling of déjà vu as I see the same blond haired boy from before checking into the inn. I start walking towards the inn stairs to get to the second floor and am soon followed by the boy, who also seems to notice.

"You again…?" He says, looking up at me. I scratch my head and smile awkwardly.

"Uh, hi… We've been running into each other a lot huh?" I point at. The boy passes me.

"Much more than I'd like…" He mutters coldly. He turns to a door on the second floor, unlocking it.

"Hey, wait!" I call out to him. He glares over at me impatiently.

"Yes? What do you want? It's a bit late and I just want to get some shut eye before tomorrow…!"

"Did you manage to find a place to stay?" I ask. He glares away.

"None of your business…" He tells me. I kick at the ground slightly, giving out a sigh.

"Ok. I was just wondering because I'm kind of looking for a roommate. Since I don't think I'll be able to keep up with the rent…"

"You're what?" He asks wide eyed and suddenly paying attention.

"Yeah… So I thought that maybe if you hadn't found anywhere we could help each other out… maybe… um…" I try to say… I scratch my head, realizing how awkward this whole thing was. "Um… Never mind, that's silly of me, haha…"

"Sure, that'd be perfect!" He tells me with a smile. I give him a blank look and he suddenly glares away. "I mean… if you REALLY need my help… The weak must rely on the strong after all…!"

'Did he really just say that…?' I think to myself. "Um… I'm Faron Nimbasa. And you are…?" I ask him.

"I am Merrick Hefton. The pleasure's all mine." He introduces himself. After doing so he heads through the door. I unlock the door to my room and head inside as well. I close the door behind me and lock it. Looking around, the room was fairly small. There was a small closet and bathroom and the main room had one single bed, a couch, and a coffee table in it. I empty my bag on my bed and get everything organized, putting my summoner robe in the closet and everything else on the coffee table. While unfolding my summoner robe, I notice another outfit folded up inside with a note.

The note read 'I can bet you ten bronze that you forgot to pack yourself extra clothes, so I packed some for you' written in my mother's handwriting. I then proceed to slap myself in the face in sheer embarrassment and stupidity.

"Really?! Unbelievable…" I say to myself, looking at the note. I stash the note inside the cover of my journal, which I then begin to write in. There's always been someone looking out for me. Now I'd have to look out for myself. It wasn't getting any easier for me, that's for sure…


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Beginnings of a Summoner (part 1)

Faron slowly wakes up from his slumber but refuses to get up. It was comfy and warm under the covers. Glancing at the clock on the bed's night stand, Faron saw that it was 8:30. Seeing this, he suddenly jolts up.

"What the? Why didn't mom…" He starts to say. He looks around the room and relaxes. "Oh… right…" He says. 'This might take some getting used to…' He thinks to himself.

Faron decides to get out of bed and get ready for his first day of summoning now rather than later. He showered and got dressed into the extra clothes his mother had packed, letting out a sigh of embarrassment as he did so. He looked at the first page of the journal that he had written before and was reminded of anything he had forgotten overnight.

"That's right… I'm meeting Yanaba at 10:00 this morning…" He says to himself. He looks over at the clock. It was now 8:47. He had plenty of time for once.

Faron walks over to the room's closet after closing his journal and places it back on the nightstand. When he opened the door he saw his official Summoner's robe. He carefully takes it off of the hanger and slips into it. After doing so he walks to the mirror in the bathroom. The robe fit just fine, although Faron didn't find that it suited him well quite yet. Perhaps once he'd worn it enough, it would look more natural. Once he had everything, Faron headed out of the inn room and into the hallway.

I lock the door behind me and put the key in my pocket. I didn't have much for anyone to steal but I thought I might as well get in the habit of locking up for later. I head down the stairwell and into the main floor of the inn and find the other people staying at the inn sitting at tables and eating. I wasn't running low on time or anything, so I thought maybe I should just eat breakfast here too. I pay for some eggs and toast and sit down at an empty table.

"… Hey." A voice says from nearby. I turn to my right and see Merrick standing with his breakfast.

"Oh, morning Merrick." I greet him

"Do you mind at all if I sit here or…?"

"Huh? No, not at all."

"Thanks…" He says, sitting down at the table. "It's kind of hard not knowing anyone here… Not that I really need anyone that is…" He tells me. I take a bite of toast which I quickly chew and swallow.

"Yeah, it can be. But it doesn't really bother me much." I reply. "I wasn't exactly the most popular kid ever…"

"Really? … You're so unnaturally friendly though…" He comments. I stop myself from biting into my toast once more.

"Unnaturally friendly…?" I inquire. He rips his toast in half.

"You're kidding right? Haha… Not that I'm complaining or anything…" He starts, taking a small bite of his toast. "Not many people would ask someone out of the blue to be their roommate without knowing anything about them first… That's just kind of odd."

"Well you looked like you needed help and, well, so do I…" I start to point out. Merrick glares away.

"What made you think that I needed help?"

"I overheard your conversation with the landlord… sorry…" I tell him. He ceases to glare and clears his throat.

"Oh… you saw that huh… Not my fault. It wasn't exactly in my parents' best interest for me to come here so I got the short end of the stick when it came to money…" He explains.

"Wasn't in their best interests?"

"It's a long story that I don't much feel like talking about…" He tells me, finishing up one half of his toast. "So what about you? What's your story?"

"Oh, I don't have much of one… I wanted to help out my country however I could but… I'm not very strong, so I couldn't join the military like my dad. So I decided to become a summoner instead."

"Really? My dad actually does some work in the military too… Not many city-states have a famous military though…"

"Well, Demacia and Noxus do have extremely well known military prowess huh?" I comment. Merrick stares at me blankly as he swallows his last bit of toast.

"Hold on a minute…. You're Demacian?" Merrick asks with a bit of an awkward look.

"Is that a problem?" I ask genuinely.

"Well you knew I was from Noxus right…? The biggest rival city-state of Demacia?"

"Yeah I knew. You and Yanaba were fighting and you told her. I don't really see what the big deal is though…" I tell him. He stares at me and sighs.

"I'm not sure if this is just you being friendly or you're just that dense…But if you don't have a problem I guess I don't either…" He says. After a few seconds of staring down at his plate, he looks back up. "You're not going to go around screaming 'Demacia' all the time are you?" I almost choke on the last piece of my toast, but swallow.

"Why does everyone keep asking that?! No, not everyone from Demacia shouts its name like a maniac!" I tell him in an annoyed tone. He snickers.

"Sorry, sorry…! I didn't think that would hit a chord, I was just making sure…" He tells me. I sigh and look over to a nearby clock on the wall. It was 9:00.

"… So hey, do you wanna summon with Yanaba and I when we get to the main building?" I ask Merrick.

"She's the chick from Piltover right? Eh… sure why not? Hopefully we can get along but who knows…" He says.

"Alright then. Let's start heading over." I say, getting up to put the plate away. Merrick follows me. "I'm meeting her there at 10."

"Right… So are you two a thing then, or?" He asks me. My face gets red.

"Is this going to become a habit with you?! No, we're not! I just met her like two days ago…" I answer him, once again annoyed at the question. Just like last time, he laughs softly.

"Jeez you're fun to mess with. Alright, let's go then."

Merrick and I head out of the inn and start heading to the Institute. Demacia and Noxus were definitely the exact opposite of one another, so the two of us mainly talked about what it was like back at home. While Demacia stood for justice, protecting the weak and having a moral code that (even in my opinion) was rather strict, Noxus stood for strength. Strength was the one factor that decided just how far you could get according to Merrick. The weak were forgotten and left to suffer while the strong practically ruled the city. As a result, anyone in the military was already in very good standing with the government, especially if they had a prestigious title. From this, I definitely preferred Demacia. At the same time however, there was something exciting about being able to easily get by just by training and getting stronger. But people are people, even if they are 'weak', like me…

"I'd never join the military though… I actually value my life." Merrick tells me.

"Hey, your dad's in the military isn't he?" I ask, hurt that he'd say such a thing. He glares over a bit.

"I'm sure your dad joined to help out your country. But my father had other reasons…" He tells me. There was a cold glint in his eyes that told me I shouldn't press further on the subject.

We get to the main building and find Yanaba waiting on the staircase. Her energetic smile faded when she saw Merrick, which then turned into an unamused frown.

"Good morning Yanaba." I greet her. She stares at Merrick.

"Um… What's he doing here?" She asks, pointing her index finger at Merrick. Merrick kicks at a step on the stairs.

"… problem?" He asks her, trying to hold back what appeared to be a sneer. Yanaba cracks her knuckles and I immediately get in between them.

"Hold it! Let's not get violent ok? Merrick wanted to join us in some matches…"

"And we should let him summon with us why?" She asks me "He's a pompous jerk!"

"If he apologizes, would you let him queue with us?" I ask her. Merrick raises an eyebrow as I look back at him. Yanaba puts her arms at her sides.

"Sure…" She answers. I turn to Merrick who glared at me.

"… Alright, fine. I'm sorry for making you angry…" Merrick says, swallowing his pride. Yanaba pushes me to the side and stands in front of Merrick. She holds her hand out to him.

"… Alright then noxian. Yanaba Yamena. You?" She says in an informal and uninterested tone. Merrick seems surprised by this gesture but goes to shake her hand.

"Merrick Hefton. A pleasure…" He says. He quickly takes his hand away and looks in a different direction.

"…Merrick, are you alright?" I ask.

"I'm fine… So are we going to start or not?" He asks, turning his head back around.

"Sure. We've just gotta register our profiles and we'll be good to go." Yanaba tells us.

"Hold on a minute, there's more than what went on yesterday for registration?" I ask Yanaba.

"Don't worry. It's not that much more. You've just gotta create your summoner name and that's it." Yanaba explains. "Once we do that, we can start the fun part…! Oh, but one thing before we get going: Merrick, what lane are you planning to go?"

"Mid lane preferably. Mages and assassins tended to be my forte back in school." He answers her.

"Perfect! Alright, let's go!"

We headed into the building and went up to the front desk to register out summoner names. For simplicities sake, I just kept mine the same as my name. Surprisingly, Merrick and even Yanaba did the same thing. Once we registered we were each given a strange tablet of some sort. Yanaba seemed completely ecstatic when she got her hands on it.

"Awesome!" She exclaims and starts fiddling with the tablet. The screen had five options: Profile, friends list, message boards, notifications and (in big red letter) 'Queue up'. I see something pop up in my notifications and see that Yanaba had already added me as a friend. I turn to her.

"Hey Yanaba? How do I accept it?" I ask her. She gasps and stares at me.

"Really…? It's a touch screen, just out of Piltover! The newest model! Just poke at the 'accept' key that popped up!" She tells me. I do so and it actually works. I press my finger on the profile icon and my profile pops up.

"Whoa… Never seen anything like this…" Merrick comments, fascinated with the device.

"Well the Institute does utilize techmaturgy whenever it can and always stays updated to help make things easy for their summoners. This whole system used to just be operated by paper and magic. It's SO much easier now." Yanaba tells us. As she was ranting, I added Merrick to my friends list.

"So are we ready then? I wanna get started." Merrick says.

"Finally, something we agree on! Let's go then!" Yanaba comments. The three of us head into the right wing.

The right wing wasn't as busy as I had imagined it to be, probably because it was ten in the morning. The three of us sit down in a small area with three love seats.

"I'll go ahead and set the game up…" Yanaba tells us. "Just give me a second here, k?"

After she says this I get a notification that invited me to a match with Yanaba. I join and see that Merrick had joined as well. "Alright! With that we can enter a bot match!"

"That was fast…" I comment to Yanaba.

"That's cuz these are simple and easy to use. We should be able to get into a bot match any second now." She tells us.

"Hold on, it says that it's going to take five minutes to-" Merrick begins to argue. Suddenly I see the tablet's screen get dark as a lit box appears in the center. Inside the box were the words 'Match found!' as well as the words 'accept' and 'decline'. I instinctively hit the 'accept' button.

"You were saying Merrick…?" Yanaba asks with a smirk. Merrick glare away hitting the accept key as well. After Merrick accepted, the tablets directed us to head over to the hallway leading to the Summoner's Rift map. A lot of people were pouring in and out of this hallway due to the fact that summoners rift was the Institutes most popular summoning ground. At the end of the hallway was a huge doorway that people were both disappearing into and appearing from. Literally. The doorway seemed to be imbued with the special magic that our guide had told us about yesterday. When the three of us stepped through we appeared with two other people in a dark, circular room. To the side of the room stood a summoner who had his hood up. He was the supervisor for our match it would seem. He walks up to all of us.

"Welcome newbies. I'm guessing this is your first match here at the Institute, hmm?" The supervisor inquires. Four of us nod while the fifth person stands on one of the five circular insignias on the floor. "Well at least not all of you are new. Stand within one of the four other circles if you would."

We all follow the supervisors' instructions and stand on one of the insignias. He begins channeling magic into the air in front of him until he creates a large bluish flame. He throws it into the air where it freezes in the center. It then splits into five and flies toward each of us. I quickly catch it in front of me, letting it hover a few inches over my palm. The flame then dissipates into a clear blue sphere.

"One day you'll be able to create summoning flames on your own…" The supervisor informs us. "But until you get to that point, we're here to both help you out with your magic and make sure it doesn't go awry…" The man walks calmly around the outside of the circle. "The champions you will be able to synchronize with are as follows: Ahri, Anivia, Annie, Ashe, Garen…" My face lights up at Garen's name. "… Irelia, Master Yi, Ryze, Sivir, and Warwick…" He finishes the list of names. "You may now chose whomever you wish to summon."

The summoner who had gone to the insignia on his own immediately chooses Sivir and locks in.

"bot." He says to the rest of us. I immediately set my sights on Garen and with a mere thought, lock up my mind. Merrick looks over.

"You WOULD choose Garen wouldn't you…?" He comments, laughing softly. Yanaba takes the orb in one hand and punches Merrick's shoulder with her fist. He glares at her and then concentrates on Ahri, locking in.

"Mid…" Merrick calls out as he glared at Yanaba. Yanaba chooses Irelia and locks in as well.

"Top with Faron." She calls. I look up from my orb

"Wait what?" I ask. The remaining summoner locks in as Anivia. "Yanaba, what did you say…?" I ask again. She smiles mischievously at me.

"The match will begin in ten seconds." The supervisor announces.

"You want to main top right? And it honestly doesn't make much sense to jungle in a bot match." She tells me. "I'll just start out small."

Suddenly a wave of energy floods over me and I close my eyes tightly. This was the very same feeling I got before when taking my final examination. I had summoned Garen then too. But instead of summoning with other bots this time, I was summoning with other people. A voice echoes through my head. 'Always, for Demacia…!' It said. I open my eyes and the wave passes. I stare into the glowing sphere in surprise. 'Was that… Garen's voice?' I think to myself. Shockingly, my thoughts are answered. 'Indeed young summoner! After all, you DID summon me did you not?'

'Wait… this didn't happen during the test…!' I exclaim in my head.

'Test…? Ah, you must be new! So, What is your name, summoner?' The voice asks.

'I'm Faron Nimbasa…' I answer him.

'Nimbasa…? That's right… You're Egon's kid aren't you?' He guesses. My eyes widen in a bit of surprise.

'Yeah, that's right…!' I say, confirming it. I see the blue team base in the clear orb before me.

'Well Faron, good luck!' Garen bids me.

**Welcome to Summoner's Rift!**

Anivia, Garen, Irelia, Ahri, and Ashe stand at the spawn point in the blue team base, each of them starting out by buying their items.

_Yanaba Yamena (Irelia): Hey Faron, Let's head top._

_Faron Nimbasa (Garen): I know, I'm coming._

_Merrick Hefton (Ahri): :p_

"Time to test the waters…" Ashe murmurs.

"It's a simple bot match… It should end up just fine… If it doesn't, then I fear for the future of this Institute…" Anivia comments before leaving the spawn and heading for bot lane with Ashe.

"Good luck Garen. I hope your summoner is competent…" Ahri wishes while running from spawn towards mid lane. Irelia and Garen then head top.

"I hope you're ready to support me Garen…" Irelia jokes as they head to top lane's outer turret. Garen grunts at Irelia's snide comment.

"That's up to the summoners miss Irelia." He replies simply.

**30 seconds until minions spawn.**

_Yanaba Yamena (Irelia): Hey Faron, Merrick, let's have ourselves a friendly competition_

_Merrick Hefton (Ahri): Hmm…?_

_Faron Nimbasa (Garen): What do we have to do?_

_Yanaba Yamena (Irelia): Whoever gets the highest creep score by the end of the game wins_

_Yanaba Yamena (Irelia): Sound good?_

_Faron Nimbasa (Garen): Sure_

_Merrick Hefton (Ahri): Creep Score…?_

_Toatsnotasmurf (Ashe): Noob…_

_Merrick Hefton (Ahri): Hey, f*** you I'm not a noob_

_Faron Nimbasa (Garen): Why don't we calm down? o.o_

_Yanaba Yamena (Irelia): Creep score = Minion kills_

_Merrick Hefton (Ahri): Thanks. Yeah that sounds good._

"And so it begins…" Irelia sighs "but that competition DOES sound interesting huh Garen? Your summoner up to the challenge?" Garen smiles confidently.

"Bring it on. I shall win this competition in the name of Demacia!" He declares. Irelia places her palm on her face and shakes her head.

**Minions have spawned.**

And so the game began. It took a while for the minions to reach the center of each lane. Once they did we saw the bots come out. We were up against Nunu, Trundle, Ryze, Sona, and Miss Fortune. Trundle and Nunu appeared in top lane for us to deal with. As soon as Irelia and Garen began to farm the minions, the two bots began attacking and so Yanaba and I attacked them back. We got them pretty low on HP and they backed off, but we were also now low on HP because of their attacks and being minion locked. We popped our health potions and stayed in lane to CS a bit more.

**First Blood!**

Ashe had slain Sona for first blood in bot lane. For a player that got queued up with the three of us, this summoner seemed to really know what they were doing. Before Irelia and Garen could start wailing on purple team's outer turret, Nunu and Trundle came back with full health. I used judgment in order to get out of the enemy minion wave, but Irelia wasn't so lucky. The turret shot her down.

**An Ally has been slain.**

_Yanaba Yamena (Irelia): Oh, bullsh*t…_

_Faron Nimbasa (Garen): Minions fault_

_Merrick Hefton (Ahri): hahaha sucks to be you_

**An Ally has been slain!**

The notification that Ryze had killed Ahri echoed throughout the rift.

_Merrick Hefton (Ahri): …_

_Yanaba Yamena (Irelia): Karma's a b*tch ain't she?_

_Faron Nimbasa (Garen): ^_^'_

The rest of the match went slowly but without much problem. No one died more than they needed to and thanks to the talent of our team's Ashe, it was very easy getting to the enemy nexus and destroying it. And so our first bot match ended in an anticipated victory. Garen's presence dissipated from my mind as soon as the orbs in front of us disappear. The supervisor then grabs our attention.

"I've kept track of each of your individual scores. Go on and take a look." He tells us. He gestures to a board next to the rooms exit. I take a look at the board and focus in on my own score first. I went 4/5/10 with a CS score of 78. For my very first match, that wasn't too bad. Yanaba got a score of 7/4/3 with a CS score of 67. While her main score was better than mine in everything but assists, I had killed more minions than her.

"Darn it… Well I didn't win… That sucks…" Yanaba pouts in a disappointed tone. I then took a look at Merrick's score. Merrick got a 2/6/8 with a CS score of 109, effectively beating Yanaba and I in our little competition even though he had the worst score.

"Well… At least I won, hm?" Merrick asks us. "That's not saying much though since I had a lane all to myself…"

"Well, at least you're honest… Good job kid…" Yanaba congratulates him. He looks away.

"Yeah… thanks…" He replies. He looks up to us again. "So will we be participating in another match?"

"How about we get to level three and then go somewhere for lunch? I can't really do much after that though because I've got shopping to do… Can't live in an apartment without any furniture you know?" Yanaba tells us. I actually had to do the very same thing and quickly nodded in agreement.

"Sounds like a plan. Alright then, on to the next match!" Merrick declares and heads out of the room.

"That kid's kind of weird… But at least he's tolerable when he's being himself." Yanaba sums up. She then walks out of the room. I look down at my hand. Summoning was a strange art. In order to be able to move forward, you had to be able to really understand your summoned champion. To synchronize and work with the abilities they have at their disposal. Over the course of summoning, I'd eventually learn. I leave the room. It was time for the next match.


End file.
